Power struggle continues

There”™s a continuing power struggle in the region, but it has nothing to do with running the show. In fact, it has to do with the way things have not been running ”“ namely, businesses ”“ in the wake of recent power outages.

For the second time in as many months, Westchester businesses found themselves recovering from a heavy-duty storm.

And, in addition to being powerless, many business owners and other utility customers are angry about being left in the dark in terms of why it has taken so long to restore electricity. This was particularly the case in northern Westchester areas serviced by New York State Electric and Gas.

As reported in the Business Journal last week, state Sen. Greg Ball, R, C-40^th District, has called for hearings into the slow response time and is demanding accountability from NYSEG.

“We should have learned a lot of lessons from Irene. After Irene we began to conduct investigations into NYSEG”™s response time. Those investigations will now continue after the lack of response in this instance,” Ball said at a press conference in Yorktown Nov. 4.

Ball also said he had proposed legislation to prohibit a foreign entity from owning a controlling stake in a utility in New York state. Iberdrola USA, a subsidiary of Spanish energy company Iberdrola S.A., acquired NYSEG in 2008.

We agree with Ball on foreign ownership. Why would a company in another country, with stockholders from that country, be concerned with a power outage here?

NYSEG spokesman James Salmon said the numbers of downed trees and branches made it difficult for crews to access all of the service areas in a timely manner.

The situation was no better ”“ worse, perhaps ”“ in neighboring Connecticut. Legislators there are looking into Connecticut Light & Power”™s response to the October nor”™easter.

The state”™s congressional delegation has cited the Energy Policy Act of 2005 in criticizing CL&P for restoring power more quickly to other states than in Connecticut. U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman and Sen. Richard Blumenthal signed the letter to FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff, as did Reps. Rosa DeLauro, Jim Himes, Chris Murphy and Joe Courtney.

True, that wicked Halloween weekend storm packed a frightening punch. The amount of snow and number of downed trees was shocking. Still, these lengthy power outages are unacceptable. Businesses here have enough to worry about as they struggle with day-to-day issues and concerns. They need to focus on generating profits, not hooking up generators.

The region needs a strategic plan to deal with future storms.

In Westchester, there have been suggestions to redirect overhead wires underground, as has been done in some parts of the county and elsewhere. Both Con Edison and NYSEG have said the costs were prohibitively high ”“ in terms of installation and repair. Still, it deserves further study. Perhaps it could be done gradually.

Regardless, we cannot continue on this unstable path.

Mother Nature remains infallible and unpredictable.